U.S. patent number 4,367,004 [Application Number 06/109,385] was granted by the patent office on 1983-01-04 for electrical connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to AMP Incorporated. Invention is credited to Yoshitsugu Fujiura, Takahiko Miyamura, Ryoji Nishimura.
United States Patent |
4,367,004 |
Fujiura , et al. |
January 4, 1983 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Electrical connector
Abstract
An electrical connector for use in establishing electrical
connections to the conductors of a flat cable comprises a first
housing member carrying a plurality of terminals each having arms
having opposed edges defining a conductor-receiving slot and having
pointed extremities for piercing the insulating material of the
cable, and a second housing member having a plurality of holes to
receive the arms of a respective one of the terminals. The arms of
the conductor-receiving portion of each terminal are formed
adjacent their free ends with outwardly directed projections which
are an interference fit in the associated hole in the second
housing member, each arm of each terminal in use engaging the
second housing member not only at the projection on the arm but
also at a second position adjacent the engagement between the arm
and a conductor of the cable received in the slot partially defined
by the arm. The second position of engagement between each arm of
each terminal and the second housing member serves to relieve the
stresses induced in the arms by the engagement between the
projections on the arms and the second housing member, this
enhancing the contact between the arms and the conductors and
ensuring reliable electrical connections.
Inventors: |
Fujiura; Yoshitsugu (Tokyo,
JP), Miyamura; Takahiko (Hatano, JP),
Nishimura; Ryoji (Fussa, JP) |
Assignee: |
AMP Incorporated (Harrisburg,
PA)
|
Family
ID: |
10502660 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/109,385 |
Filed: |
January 22, 1980 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Jan 22, 1979 [GB] |
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7902247 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/404; 439/353;
439/396 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
4/242 (20130101); H01R 12/675 (20130101); H01R
12/77 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
4/24 (20060101); H01R 011/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/97R,98,99R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Desmond; Eugene F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Faller; F. Brice
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector for use in establishing electrical
connections to the conductors of a flat cable of the type
comprising a plurality of conductors held in spaced side-by-side
parallel relationship by plastics insulating material, comprising a
first housing member carrying a plurality of terminals each having
a conductor-receiving portion projecting from one face of the first
housing member, the conductor-receiving portions of all the
terminals all projecting in the same direction, and each comprising
a pair of spaced arms extending normally of the one face of the
first housing member, the arms having opposed edges defining a
conductor-receiving slot and having pointed extremities for
piercing the insulating material of the cable, and a second housing
member having a plurality of holes extending inwardly from one face
thereof each to receive the arms of a respective one of the
terminals carried by the first housing member when the two housing
members are positioned with their one faces facing and with the
cable located between their one faces with conductors of the cable
received in the conductor-receiving slots of respective terminals,
the arms of the conductor-receiving portion of each terminal being
formed adjacent their free ends with outwardly directed projections
which are an interference fit in the associated hole in the second
housing member, the interference fit between the projections and
the walls of the associated holes in the second housing member
serving to latch the second housing member to the terminals and
thus to the first housing member, in which in use, each arm of each
terminal engages the second housing member not only at the
projection on the arm but also at a second position adjacent the
engagement between the arm and a conductor of the cable received in
the slot partially defined by the arm whereby stress concentrations
at said second position of engagement which are caused by the
engagement at the projection on the arm, are dispersed into the
plastics insulating material and contact between the arms and the
conductor is improved.
2. A connector as claimed in claim 1, in which each hole in the
second housing member is a blind hole having a first portion of
inwardly tapering cross-section, leading into a second portion of
constant cross-section in which the projections on the arms of the
associated terminal are received in the assembled state of the
connector.
Description
This invention relates to an electrical connector and particularly
to an electrical connector for use in establishing electrical
connections to the conductors of a flat cable of the type
comprising a plurality of conductors held in spaced side-by-side
parallel relationship by plastics insulating material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,055 (8233) there is described such a
connector comprising a first housing member carrying a plurality of
terminals each having a conductor-receiving portion projecting from
one face of the first housing member, the conductor-receiving
portions of all the terminals all projecting in the same direction,
and each comprising a pair of spaced arms extending normally of the
one face of the first housing member, the arms having opposed edges
defining a conductor-receiving slot and having pointed extremities
for piercing the insulating material of the cable, and a second
housing member having a plurality of holes extending inwardly from
one face thereof each to receive the arms of a respective one of
the terminals carried by the first housing member when the two
housing members are positioned with their one faces facing and with
the cable located between their one faces with conductors of the
cable received in the conductor-receiving slots of respective
terminals, the arms of the conductor-receiving portion of each
terminal being formed adjacent their free ends with outwardly
directed projections which are an interference fit in the
associated hole in the second housing member, the interference fit
between the projections and the walls of the associated holes in
the second housing member serving to latch the second housing
member to the terminals and thus to the first housing member.
This known connector has the advantage that the first and second
housing members are securely latched together with a cable
therebetween by the engagement between the terminals and the second
housing member, this preventing bowing of the second housing
member, which can occur particularly with long connectors, such
bowing possibly adversely affecting the connections between the
terminals and the conductors of the cable.
According to this invention in use of a connector as described
above each arm of each terminal engages the second housing member
not only at the projection on the arm but also at a second position
adjacent the engagement between the arm and a conductor of the
cable received in the slot partially defined by the arm.
The connector of this invention has the advantage that the second
position of engagement between each arm of each terminal and the
second housing member serves to relieve the stresses induced in the
arms by the engagement between the projections on the arms and the
second housing member, this enhancing the contact between the arms
and the conductors and ensuring reliable electrical
connections.
A connector according to this invention will now be described by
way of example with reference to the drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector with part broken away
and connected to a cable;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of part of the connector prior to
assembly to a cable; and
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with the connector in the
assembled state.
The connector to be described is for connection to a flat cable 100
of the type comprising a plurality of conductors 101 held in spaced
side-by-side parallel relationship by plastics insulating material
102, and comprises a first housing member 1 moulded from
electrically insulating plastics material and carrying a plurality
of terminals 2 each stamped and formed from sheet metal and having
a socket portion 3 contained in the housing member 1 for mating
with a male contact (not shown), and a conductor-receiving portion
4 projecting from one face of the housing member 1, the
conductor-receiving portions 4 of all the terminals 2 (only one
being shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) projecting in the same direction.
Each conductor-receiving portion 4 comprises a pair of spaced arms
5 extending normally of the one face of the housing member 1, the
arms 5 having opposed edges defining a conductor-receiving slot 6,
and having pointed extremities for piercing the insulating material
102 of the cable 100.
The connector also comprises a second housing member 7 moulded from
electrically insulating plastics material and having a plurality of
blind holes 8 extending inwardly from one face thereof each to
receive the arms 5 of a respective one of the terminals 2 when the
two housing members 1 and 7 are positioned with their one faces
facing and with the cable 100 located between their one faces with
the conductors 101 of the cable 100 received in the
conductor-receiving slots 6 of respective terminals 2.
The arms 5 of each terminal 2 are formed adjacent their free ends
with outwardly directed projections 9 which are an interference fit
in the associated hole 8 in the second housing member 7, the
projections 9 biting into the wall of the associated hole 8 and
thus serving to latch the second housing member 7 to the terminals
2 and thus to the first housing member 1 in the assembled state
shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
As clearly shown in FIG. 2 each hole 8 has a first portion 10 of
inwardly tapering cross-section, which serves to cam the arms 5 of
the associated terminal 2 towards each other as the second housing
member 7 is applied to the terminals 2, the tapering portion 10
leading into a second portion 11 of constant cross-section which
serves to hold the arms 5 in a stressed condition (shown in FIG. 3)
with a conductor 101 received between them, and with the
projections 9 biting into the wall of the hole 8. The projection 9
on each arm 5 thus defines a first position X of engagement between
the arm 5 and the second housing member 7.
As previously mentioned, this engagement X and the stresses it
causes in the arms 5 can adversely affect the contact between the
arms 5 and the associated conductor 101, and thus in the connector
of this invention the arms 5 and the hole 8 in the second housing
member 7 are so dimensioned that there is a second position Y of
engagement between each arm 5 and the second housing member 7 at
the mouth of the hole 8, that is adjacent the engagement between
the arm 5 and the conductor 101 received in the slot 6 partially
defined by the arm 5, as clearly shown in FIG. 3.
It has been found by stress analysis carried out on a connector
according to this invention that the provision of the second
position Y of engagement between each arm 5 and the second housing
member 7 serves to reduce and disperse the stress concentrations in
the arm 5 caused by the first position X of engagement between the
projection 9 on the arm 5 and the second housing member 7, and
between the arms 5 and the conductor 101, thereby enhancing the
contact between the arms 5 and the associated conductor 101 while
still maintaining the latching effect between projection 9 on the
arms 5 and the second housing member 7.
* * * * *